Through the Looking Glass
by TimlessNight
Summary: For as long as he can remember, Lovino has been trapped inside a mirror, forced to watch loved ones continue their lives, oblivious to the fact that he had ever existed. So what happens when Lovino escapes and tries to go back to his old life? Human AU, T for Romano's language (and because I like that letter)
1. From the Inside

His hands slammed against the glass. Per the norm, nothing happened. Or at least that Lovino could tell.

What Lovino expected was that the glass would break if he continued to pound against it for long enough.

On the Other Side lived the life he would've had if someone hadn't taken it from him. He was forced to watch his would-be brother and his would-be friends go on with their lives without him.

But the worst of all was watching the person he would have fallen in love with and married carry on without him.


	2. From the Eyes of an Innocent

For an innocent Spaniard, this story starts like any other might: a beautiful day. And, as beautiful beginnings usually do, it took a turn for the worse.

Being the carefree person he was, Antonio had tomato juice all over, making him sticky. And he was off to pick _more_ tomatoes, if you can believe that. He really liked tomatoes.

So there he was, picking his tomatoes innocently just as he was. The tomatoes were special to him for a reason besides just the taste. Right? Just when he thought he had something, he immediately lost it. So Antonio shrugged it off and continued into the garden.

But unbeknownst to Antonio, it wouldn't be another peaceful weekend like he wanted.

For a while, Antonio stayed oblivious to the future. Not for long, though, because the future always becomes the present at some point. Which happened to be right around the corner for this story. Quite literally, actually.

When Antonio stepped around the corner of his shared house to enter the backyard, he almost had a heart attack. A stranger was sitting in the tomato garden with a circle of squished plants around him. The saved tomatoes were either in his lap or crammed into his mouth.

"Er, not that I don't like meeting new people, but what are you doing in my garden?" Antonio asked, slightly wary of this boy. He didn't look like he was poor (he had nice blue jeans and a button down on), but that didn't exactly help Antonio assess the situation. "And eating all my tomatoes?"

"Leave me alone, bastardo."

That just made Antonio want to know more. If the boy was trying to discourage him, he was doing a pretty poor job. So Antonio inspected the boy more closely.

The jeans were a dark navy and matched the button down. His hair was a dark brown with hazel eyes that never seemed to decide what color they wanted to be. There was a curl on the side of his head that stuck up like it was trying to defy gravity.

As mentioned, Antonio was curious. He reached up and tried to flatten the curl. The curl just popped right back up again as if nothing had ever happened.

The boy, on the other hand, didn't get over it so quickly. "Don't touch my curl, bastardo!" His face was flushed. Whether from anger or embarrassment, Antonio couldn't tell.

"What's your name?" Antonio asked abruptly.

The boy stared for a moment. He almost looked surprised at the question. "My name's. . .Lovino. . ." he mumbled.

Now Antonio could approach this civilly. "Now, what are you doing in my tomato garden?" he asked.

Lovino blushed and one glance at his face showed hints of an emotion Antonio didn't know. "I. . .ran away. . .from, um, the, uh, orphanage. . ." It was an obvious lie, but Lovino looked like he was begging for Antonio not to press him, so Antonio let the subject slip away.

"Would you like to come in? I have more tomatoes inside." If it was the least he could do for the boy. Not that people should go around accepting invitations into strangers' houses or anything.

Lovino seemed to contemplate this for a bit. Finally he said, "Okay."

* * *

**Author's Note: This took soooooo long to write. . . Oops. . .**

**I really had no idea where I was going with this at first. Then I decided to actually sit down and do something productive instead of watching anime for the whole day.**

**I could've found out if Natsu and Lucy (from Fairy Tail) get rid of the curse! But instead I had to turn off television. T.T ****You better appreciate this. . .**

**By the way, don't walk into strangers' houses. Lovino only did it because he had been forced to watch Antonio's life for a while, so he knew he could trust him. Not that I wouldn't mind getting kidnapped by Hetalia characters.**

**PLEASE DON'T TRY TO KIDNAP ME AS YOU DRESS IN HETALIA COSPLAY NOW THAT YOU KNOW MY SECRET WISH!**

**Okie, please review! ^-^**

**-TN**


	3. From Formal to Informal

Lovino tried to forget that he had watched Antonio through the mirror. He was starting over. And besides, who would believe that Lovino had come from a _mirror_? What if his time was limited? This could only be a short trip. So Lovino swore to not grow attached to Antonio, no matter what it took.

It started with Lovino being as rude as possible. Then Antonio would hate him, and they would never see each other again. It was flawed logic, he knew, but that was all the logic Lovino had to go on.

Shuffling after Antonio, he adopted a scowl that he could only hope was believable. It wasn't like he smiled a lot anyways.

The door opened to a cozy kitchen with two men lounging on the countertops. Lovino blinked, and Antonio seemed just as surprised to see the intruders.

"Francis, Gil, what are you doing here?" Antonio seemed laid back and casual around them. Even a fool could tell they were close friends.

Lovino couldn't remember seeing these people in the mirror. Which meant the mirror had been keeping things from him. Which meant he didn't know how much he actually knew about this stranger he called his true love. He only knew what he had inferred from what the mirror had shown him, which could only be one side of the story. He had seen Antonio at work, in his garden, the things of his daily life. Not so much his personal life.

Now it was a struggle to keep up this façade. Before entering the real world, Lovino could cry whenever he needed to. It would blow his cover if he did now.

The two lounging didn't seem to notice the discomfort. One of them came up into Lovino's face with a huge grin. He had white hair and red eyes that made him look somewhat crazy.

"Just came to say hi. Where'd you pick up this one, Toni?" he asked.

Antonio "Toni" rolled his eyes at the friend. "I found him in the garden. Don't scare him."

"Oui, mon ami, leave the poor boy alone. How'd he end up in your garden anyway, Toni?" the other one, the one who Lovino assumed was Francis. But everything he had thought so far had turned out might not be true, so he couldn't be sure.

Either way, he was tired of people talking about him in third person. "I ran away."

The trio all turned to him as if he had grown another head. It appeared no one had expected him to talk. Or at least not so soon.

Gil and Francis finally decided to acknowledge Lovino. "So you decided to come into a stranger's house?" Francis asked, shaking his blond hair out of his face and tilting his head. "You could get kidnapped."

"Well, I, er, don't really care. Life is . . . tiring," Lovino muttered, by now just making excuses. He was running out of ideas.

Luckily, Toni jumped in here. "You guys know I'm trustworthy. Besides, it's not like he has anywhere else. Just leave him alone."

The white-haired one shrugged and held out his hand to Lovino. "Fine by me. Because I'm just that awesome and accepting. I'm Gilbert. Call me Gil."

The other was more hesitant but soon warmed up to Lovino as they talked the day away.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, wayyy overdue chapter. Sorry 'bout that, guys.**

**My eyes hurrrrt. I've been staring at my ipod all day doing absolutely nothing. Just, you know, staring. And then I watched anime. . . Like I always do before adding on to TTLG.**

**Also, I wrote short a few weeks ago. IT SAYS CROSSOVER BECAUSE IT IS LOOSELY BASED ON PETER PAN. THERE IS NO MIXING OF CHARACTERS. Anyway, that's up.**

**The title of this chapter really doesn't fit what happened, but it was meant to be just Lovino being introduced to other characters. Yeah, that changed.**

**Arvoir (see, I've been watching Les Mis and it's getting to me),**

**-TN**


	4. From Past to Present

_Lovino's heart pounded and his eyes glazed._

_"No!" He knew they couldn't hear his screams, but he continued to scream anyways. "Don't leave me here, Feli! Don't forget me!" The five year old cried and kicked and screamed, but it made no difference. He was stuck here. There was no escape._

_His hands shook as Lovino sat down on the stone floor and leaned against a cold wall. The cold didn't bother Lovino. He was numb and couldn't feel a thing. It was torture. No, worse than torture. Why would someone do this to him? Lovino was a sweet, innocent little boy who had done absolutely nothing wrong. Right?_

_Five years later, he still wondered the same thing. He could be there to protect his brother, who he was constantly forced to watch get beat up over and over._

_Instead, he was forced to stay still in a little box and watch through a mirror as people he loved suffered._

_Lovino watched his brother's utter heartbreak when their grandpa died. He watched his brother tear himself apart after his first love was killed in an accident._

_But it was even worse to watch people live happily without him._

_Antonio seemed so happy and boisterous without Lovino there. He looked like it was the happiest he could ever be. Feliciano sometimes looked like that, too. __The cracks went a little deeper every time he saw Toni's smile, and knew he would never get the chance to make him smile for him._

_When he was in the box, he never needed sleep. No food, no water, no heat. He was isolated and frozen. He aged like he would normally, but nothing else changed. Lovino would rather anything to what he was given. People might say he had the grass is greener syndrome. "You want to escape," they'd say, "but do you really want the responsibilities of the real world?"  
_

_The answer is yes._

_Yes, anything would be better. He wanted to taste the tomatoes Toni was always eating. He wanted to have conversations with people that weren't one-sided. He wanted to stretch his legs and go for walks and see everything there was to see. Let them think what they will, Lovino wanted freedom._

_These thoughts kept him from descent into insanity._

_Lovino would watch and watch as he thought of all the things he could do if he were free. The first person he would see would be Toni. They would fall in love and live a happy ever after like in those fairy tales Feli used to read._

_But they were all fake, and Lovino knew it. He just hoped that somehow, he could have a real one._

* * *

**Author's Note: So that's how Lovi grew up. Kinda short. And depressing. But I'm violent when I write, so at least I didn't have, you know, waterboarding or anything in there!**

**Also, I'm falling behind on responding to comments for RMPM. Sorry peoples.**

**Speaking of comments. I'm getting requests for accidental kisses. . . BE PATIENT. THEY'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A WEEK. AND MOST PEOPLE ARE HOMOPHOBIC IN ITALY. IT TAKES TIME.**

**Alright, I'm going to go . . . do something.**

**-TN**


	5. From Hate to Love

It was late that night when Francis and Gilbert finally left Toni's house. Lovi was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

Toni walked in carrying blankets from the closet. "Hey, the guest bed's not made—" he stopped when he saw Lovi slouched on the couch. Toni must've thought he was asleep, because he sat down beside Lovi and started to _snuggle_ with him.

That woke Lovi up. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" he shouted, jumping off the couch.

Toni looked shocked. "I—. . . I thought you were asleep! I wouldn't have cuddled otherwise!"

"I just—" Lovi yawned "—want to get some sleep."

"Oh right! Since the guest bed isn't made, you can take my bed for the night!"

Lovi looked at him. Toni was giving up his bed so that Lovi could get to sleep. How was he supposed to pretend to hate this person, when what he felt was just the opposite?

"Whatever, tomato bastard. Give me some place to fucking sleep already," he muttered, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Toni looked slightly taken aback, as if he'd expected giving up his bed to soften Lovi a bit. It made him feel guilty about acting so mean. "Oh, uh, it's straight forward up the stairs."

Toni watched Lovi walk away and wondered about him. It was obvious he hadn't run away. So why had he suddenly shown up at Toni's house? And made a jerk of himself, no less. But, deep down, Toni thought he was kind of cute. It just made him more determined to find the sweet side of his little amigo. Which had to be buried deep down in there somewhere, right? Maybe. But _very_ deep.

It was funny, Toni realized. Lovi called him "tomato bastard" when he couldn't remember telling Lovi about his passion for tomatoes.

Maybe he was some kind of . . . of . . . stalker, or something. That Toni had let sleep in his room. That was in his house. If his suspicions were true, Toni's trusting personality had gotten him into yet another complete mess. He could be killed! Or worse!

No.

Sighing, Toni dragged himself upstairs.

He needed to stop with all these "maybe"'s. It would just get him worried over what was probably-hopefully-nothing. Toni's friends seemed to accept the stranger.

That was the perfect word for him: stranger. Lovi was a complete and utter stranger. Somehow that stung, for Toni to realize. Already, he had grown attached to the short-tempered, bad-mouthed, red-faced stranger.

So much, that Toni couldn't imagine a world without his Lovi.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter is a little short. Heh, um, yah. But I've still got two more chapters to write, so never fear! Then I'm done for the week. *sigh* I'm way behind, I know. Trying to catch up.**

**So yaoi! I've been getting tons of demands for more GerIta in my other story. And I'm putting it into this story! To those of you who say this went too fast, THEY ALREADY KNEW EACH OTHER. SO DEAL WITH IT.**

**Oh, and please review if you read this. It makes me happyyyy~!**

**Anyways, off to write more chapters!**

**-TN**


	6. From the Peaceful Minded

Lovi woke up the next morning with a mission: Find his family.

Of course, how was he supposed to explain it to the Toni he wanted to visit the family he had supposedly run away from? Especially when they didn't even know who Lovi was.

The only reasonable idea he could come up with was that he tell Toni he wanted to go home. Maybe he'd still be able to visit.

No. Screw the plan, Lovi was going to come clean. As in tell the truth. Yeah. It would work out fine. Just walk right up to Toni and say, "Hey, hottie, I come from inside a mirror. Yeah, I've been watching you for years, but you never saw me 'cause the mirror's magic. For some reason I was let out. I came straight to you. If I'd stayed, we'd be together by now."

Oh, sure, it would totally work. If Toni were deaf.

Besides, there was no way in hell Lovi could ever get the courage to say something like that. He'd come off as a stalker! And the hottie part? Definitely not.

It would be a challenge, but it needed to be said.

That was all Lovi had thought through when he waltzed up to Toni later that morning. And ended up standing there, not knowing what to say, like a moron.

"Uh. . . Need anything?" Toni asked.

Stupid! Lovi felt like an idiot for not thinking things through. "Oh, um. . . Well, I. . . There's no real way to explain this. I, um. . . IcamefromamirrorandIgrewupthereinsteadofintherealw orld." He drew in a long breath, but flew right back into his speech before Toni had a chance to say anything. "I never had a chance to grow up the way I should have. Or maybe I did, and I just don't remember it. Either way. . ."

"Lovi, I believe you."

"Wh-what?" Lovi was caught off guard by both the seriousness of the statement and the fact that Toni actually believed him! It was too good to be true!

"Francis overheard his friend Arthur and Arthur's friend talking about some magic shifting. It makes sense. After all, you knew I love tomatoes even though I never told you that."

"I. . . Thank you." Lovi could feel his cheeks burning, so he tacked on a "bastard" at the end.

But Toni hardly paid any attention. "All I want is revenge."

* * *

**Author's Note: Please review! Even if you don't have criticism for the chapter or don't know what to say, just say "hi~!" It'll make me so happy! So pleeeease?**

**How many am I behind on now? Let's go with one chapter for this and one chapter for Rich Man Poor Man. Less work for me!**

**-TN**


	7. Chapter 6

"R-revenge?!" Lovi stuttered, as he could feel himself shaking down to the very last hair.

"Whoever did this took away whatever future we-no, _you_-could have had," Toni said, shaking as well, only with anger instead of fear.

"It's not your problem, bastard!"

Toni actually looked hurt. Why should he care?! Lovi was just going to end up being taken away again!

"I. . ." Toni paused to suck in a breath before adding, "I think I love you."

Lovi suddenly felt cold. Think?! No, wait, love?!

But Toni's eyes were somber as he continued on with his speech. "I know we've just met, but I feel like I've known you forever." Then Toni smiled like he was one of the little girls performing for a beauty pageant. "I think we were meant to be together, Lovi!"

"You _think_?! Is that all you can do, idiot?! You don't even know if you love someone or not!" Lovi rolled his eyes, dismissing the hurt that flashed on Toni's face. It wasn't like he was going back now, anyways. "It's not even your concern. Just drop it."

Toni desperately said, "Aw, you don't mean that, right, Lovi?"

No way Lovi was going to say no to that. It meant admitting he was wrong, which meant shame. No, not a chance. "I do."

Lovi couldn't stand to stare at that hurt on Toni's face, so he just stormed out. He was still angry, right? Right. And he wouldn't back down. Lovi stomped a few blocks before he finally stopped to look around. He didn't recognize a thing around him. Meaning, he was lost.

A little off, there were two men holding hands; one was blonde and buff, like he could easily beat the shit out of anyone (and that was just the impression Lovi got from _behind_). The other had a strange curl sticking out of his auburn hair. . . It couldn't be-

It was. Finally, Lovi had found his family.

He ran up closer, but was hesitant to make his presence known. He didn't know this stranger that had moved in on his brother's life. The bastard. Taking his brother away from him! How was Lovi supposed to talk to Feliciano when that bastard was there?

"Hey," came the deep voice of the blonde in front of Lovi,without even turning around. "Do you want something? Why are you following us?"

Feli looked behind himself at Lovi.

Okay, Lovi had to think fast. Italian. Right. Both Lovi and his brother knew Italian. Hopefully, the bastard wouldn't understand.

"Uh. . . Mi sono perso, e non parlo inglese. Può uno di voi mi può aiutare?" Lovi asked. He was in the suburbs, and he was lost? Unlikely.

"Sì!" said Feli, seemingly eager to help. Energized bastard. Lovi was almost sick of him already. "Dove stai andando?"

Where was Lovi going? "Sapete una Feliciano Vargas? E 'mio fratello, ma lui non lo sa."

Feli just stared. For a long, long time.

"I speak English, by the way," Lovi added.

"Fratello!" Feli shrieked finally, seeming more like himself, as he tackled Lovi into a hug.

"Get off me!"

"No!

"Wh-what's going on?" the bastard finally burst in. So he couldn't speak Italian.

"Oh!" Feli pulled away from the hug, much to Lovi's appreciation. He never liked physical contact. "Luddy, this is my brother-"

"Lovino," Lovi said, before Feli could pause.

"Right. Fratello, come back to the house with us!"

"I. . . I can't, fratello," Lovi muttered, staring at his shoes. He really _did_ feel bad. He'd just met his long-lost brother that he'd dreamed of meeting for forever, and now he was leaving him behind. "I'm sorry."

Then Lovi looked up. "I have to go on an adventure." Then he turned a went back the way he came.

* * *

**Author's Note: You know, the way I write Lovi is kind based off the way I react to things when I'm angry. . . Most people haven't seen me angry though! Unless someone takes my food~! In that case, I yell at them or worse until they give it back or it is smushed. If I can't have it, neither can they.**

**But, anyways! It's hard to believe I'm only on the sixth chapter of this story when I'm working on the eleventh of the other one! Waaaaawwwww~**

**Okay, no idea what that was.**

**-TN**


	8. From Evil

Toni had to admit, he was heartbroken when Lovi left. But he wasn't gone for very long, was he?

As Lovi had stood hunched over and huffing, Toni's heart was pumping fast adrenaline through him along with pure bliss. "I. . . I'm back, bastard. Now let's get revenge already."

They proceeded to drive around whilst planning the best way to start.

"You don't have any ideas as to why or who would lock you in a mirror?" Toni asked, thinking hard.

"No. I already said that, bastard."

"Okay!" Toni said, smiling. "Where should we start, then?"

"No idea." Lovi shifted, seeming almost nervous. "I. . . Well, there was this one time. . ."

"What? What happened?" Toni asked. Something about the way Lovi had said it made Toni nervous. "What happened, Lovi?!"

"There was someone who. . . Well, I heard someone say something about a wizard. I don't know who or when or what they meant. I may have misheard them. Yeah, it's probably nothing."

"Don't say that! Whatever lead you have is at least a lead!"

"Uh. . ."

"Oh! I know! If it's magic, Francis has a boyfriend that knows a lot about magic!" Toni started to bounce as they made a couple of turns and came to a stop at a towering mansion.

"This is where Francis's boyfriend lives?" Lovi asked, his voice soft, almost like a whisper.

"Yup!" Toni shut the car off and walked up to the front door. "Lovi, come on!"

"Alright, dammit!" Lovi cursed, slamming his door. "I'm coming! This place gives me the creeps!"

As they waited for someone to answer the doorbell, Lovi whispered, "C'mon, Toni, let's get outta here! Forget about revenge!"

But he was cut off by the opening of the door. "Hello, chaps. . ." the man said slowly, seeming confused at finding people at his doorstep.

Lovi was shocked by the mans eyebrows. "What's that on your face?!" he asked before he could stop himself.

"Lovi!" Toni's voice was high and slightly harsh, like a parent scolding a child. Then he turned to the man. "I'm sorry, sir. He doesn't mean that."

"Oh, I'm sure he does; I get it a lot," said the man with his strange British accent. "Why don't you two come in? I'm Arthur, by the way." The man, Arthur, led them through the hallway and into a nice little sitting room with some scones on a plate and three teacups, still steaming. It was like Arthur had known they would come. Lovi clung to Toni like he was a lifeline. Truthfully, Toni was starting to lose circulation, but he didn't want Lovi to let go, so he stayed quiet.

As they all sat down, Arthur asked, picking up his tea, "So, what brings you lads here?"

"Well," Toni started, glancing at Lovi for approval before continuing, "Lovi-I'm Toni, by the way. I'm a friend of Francis-came from a mirror. And he's. . . I want revenge on whoever took his chance at a regular life away."

"I see," Arthur muttered. "So you want magic help." He set down his teacup and looked up. "Unfortunately, I don't know who did this, but I do have some magic books in my basement. They might help."

Lovi started to shake as they walked downstairs. "Toni. . . Let's get out of here!" he whispered in Toni's ear.

"We'll be fine," Toni whispered back. But he spoke too soon, Toni realized. "Arthur?!"

Lovi jumped beside Toni when he noticed Arthur was missing.

"Arthur?!" Toni shouted again.

Finally, Arthur's disconnected voice rang out, "I'm sorry, lads, but you'll have to be my guests for a while. You see, I can't let you go off getting that revenge you want."

* * *

**Author's Note: I missed the cutoff for this story, because I went with my friends to go see World War Z. THANKS, FRIENDS WHO WILL NEVER READ THIS. The movie was actually pretty good. I'd recommend it if you're okay with zombies . . . and death . . . and chopping limbs off. Last night I was with OTHER friends, sorry for not updating then. . .  
**

**Also, I'm more of a USUK person, but FrUK happens to fit this story better. I'm sorry! I don't like making Iggy seem like a bad guy, either!  
**

**-TN  
**


	9. From the Dark

Lovi growled as he banged against the nearest wall, though it didn't help much. He couldn't believe that he had been tricked.

"NO!" he yelled, over and over. Lovi was desperate. They were trapped in someone's basement. So much for _getting his own life_! He got out of once cage, and now he was in another. What was the point in escaping in the first place?

Toni sat against the other wall (as far as Lovi could tell; the basement was pitch black), not saying anything for a while. Finally, he did say something: "Lovi."

Lovino stopped pounding on the walls. "Y-. . . Yeah, tomato bastard?"

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

Silence ensued.

Okay, maybe calling him a bastard wasn't the best choice. But it was the tomato b-_Toni's_-fault for apologizing and making the whole conversation awkward! "Shut up, bastard!" Lovi grumbled. "I already know it's your fault!"

More silence. No, Lovino was _not_ apologizing. No.

"Lovi," Toni said into a dark so thick that Lovi had no idea how he was able to hear Toni through it. "Lovi, I'm sorry. Please, please forgive me! I didn't know!"

"How could you have?! You're forgiven, okay?! Just shut up about it already!" If they had been in the light, Lovi would've had a hard time covering up his blush. Well, there was one thing Lovi could say he was grateful to Arthur for.

"Really?! Thanks, Lovi!" You could hear the weight lift off his shoulders in the way his voice immediately brightened. "Now let's find a way out of here!"

"How are we supposed to do that, idiota? It's pitch black, we can't see a thing!"

"We could wait for Arthur to bring us food! Then escape past him!" Toni suggested, bright as ever.

"Okay, but we need a plan. He's probably smart enough not to leave the door open when he comes down here. . ." Lovi's voice trailed off as footsteps could be heard overhead. Then someone was unlocking the basement door as light flooded the basement, making Lovi's eyes sting.

"Brought you chaps some food!" Arthur called from the top of the stairs.

Lovi scanned the room for Antonio, trying to communicate with his eyes what his plan was. Toni nodded. Lovi could only hope he understood.

Arthur stood at the base of the steps holding two plates, which he handed off. But he didn't leave. "Eat," he said. "Don't worry, I didn't poison it."

Lovi hadn't even thought about poison before, but now he was nervous. He took a tentative bite-and almost threw up. The food was bland and dry, and it tasted like. . . Well, let's just leave it at it-tasted-horrible land. It was so bad, Lovi had to spit it out. His body would not swallow.

"What the fuck is this shit?!" Lovi asked.

"You. . . You don't like my food?" Arthur look offended, with some hurt and anger mixed in.

Uh oh. Lovi dropped the plate and made a sudden break for the open door. But he froze mid-step and couldn't move.

Behind him Arthur laughed. "You think I'd just let you escape, lad?" he asked, laughing again. "I'm wouldn't just let you run out! And what do you think would happen to _this_ guy when he got left behind?" Toni.

If Lovi hadn't been frozen in place by force at that moment, he would've been shaking. He didn't know why he even cared. They'd only known each other for a few days! Maybe if Lovi had spent his life the way he was supposed to, it wouldn't be as strange for Lovi to care about Toni.

"Don't touch him."

Arthur stopped laughing. Lovino was surprised by himself, too. He had been able to talk through whatever spell Arthur had cast.

"Why are you holding us captive here?" he asked. Lovi couldn't see, but he hoped Toni understood what Lovi was trying to do.

"I. . . I'm helping a friend!" Arthur said. He seemed a little defensive, the way he said it.

"Who?"

"My. . . My friend, okay?!"

"Oh, I see," Lovino said.

"You see what, you git?!"

"I see that you're just too scared for your life. That must be some friend."

"I'm not scared of that stupid, pathetic jerk!"

"Prove it, then." This was the part where things got tricky. Lovino looked around to see that Toni had already done his part.

"And do what?!" Arthur asked.

"You could let me go."

Arthur laughed. "So you still think I'm an idiot, huh?"

"Yes, actually," Lovi said, smiling.

"What makes you think that?"

"You didn't notice what was behind you."

Then, with the sound of metal crashing against skull, Arthur fell to the floor.

"Out with a bang!" Toni cheered. Of course he was making one of his cheesy jokes _now_.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before he wakes up," Lovi said with a roll of his eyes. When Arthur had got knocked out, Lovi had been completely released from the spell. He stretched his arms. Lovino didn't like being frozen. Even in the mirror, he was able to move around some.

Toni led the way upstairs with Lovi following anxiously behind. He still didn't like being in this place.

"Artie? Hey, dude, you here?" a voice called from the hallway, and both Toni and Lovi immediately froze. "Look, I know you're here. You can't hide from me, the hero!"

The footsteps faded away along with the voice for a little while, then returned again with a pout: "Artieeeeee, I thought we had a date!"

Toni turned back to Lovi and mouthed, "Is Arthur cheating?" Lovi just shrugged. He didn't really care. He just wanted to get out.

They trailed through the various rooms of Arthur's mansion-trying to avoid the stranger-until they reached the door. Where the stranger was currently standing. Looking straight at them.

"Oh, hi!" he said. His voice was so obnoxious and loud, Lovi was surprised Arthur hadn't woken up yet. The guy was also really buff, Lovi couldn't help but notice. "Are you friends of Artie? I'm Alfred! His boyfriend! But it's a secret, though, okay? Artie's too scared of breaking up with Francis. Speaking of Artie, do you know where he is? 'Cause I sure don't!"

"Oh, erm. . ." Lovi tried to start. Then he found himself blurting, "Arthur tried to kidnap us because his friend wants me dead and we kind of knocked him out and left him to rot in the basement so that I wouldn't die because who wants to die so please don't kill us!"

Alfred laughed. "Oh, his magic stuff? Don't worry, it's not real."

_Right_, Lovino thought. "Well, I think we should, um, go now. . ."

With that, Antonio and Lovino ran off into what was now becoming dusk.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****I, uh, missed my cut off again. . . Heh. . . ****I'M SORRY! I'm on vacation! ****But I gave you a somewhat longer chapter! Forgiveness?! Ugh, no, don't forgive me. I deserve it. I've still got a chapter of Become One to write! And then the Many Failed Dates of Austria and Switzerland. . .**

**Shout out to Canada, because his birthday was July 1st! YAY! ****Happy birthday to America, too!**

**-TN**


	10. Chapter 9

"Well, that was somewhat useless and unhelpful," Toni stated after they had driven for a bit. They had run off at first, from Arthur's house, then had to go back, because they forgot not only the car _keys_, but the car _itself_.

"What do you mean somewhat?! It was completely unhelpful! In fact, it was the opposite of unhelpful!" Lovi was fuming. Toni wondered if he'd actually been forgiven, or if Lovi had been saying that to be polite.

"Well, we found out. . . Um. . . We found out. . . Oh, yeah! We found out that the person who did this was Arthur's friend!" Toni grinned, proud that he had been able to figure that part out.

"Because it's going to be _so_ easy to find out who Arthur likes and doesn't like!"

"That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"No shit, Sherlock," Lovi deadpanned.

"Okay, well, we could. . . We could ask Francis!" Toni suggested.

"The guy that Arthur's cheating on? Who knows how much of that relationship is based on lies?"

Toni tried, but he had nothing else. "Let's just try it! It's not like. . . At least we'll be prepared this time if someone tries to kidnap us!" he said.

"But we'll still be kidnapped! Or who knows what else?!"

"Okay, then, where do you suggest we go?" Toni asked with a grin.

For a minute, Lovi was silent. "Let's go to see Francis." He stared out the window pouting for the rest of the car ride.

Which turned out to be a very long one, considering he lived in the countryside part of town. He owned a little cottage that overlooked rolling hills covered in farm land.

Francis popped out of the door.

"Come in, mes amis," he cried. He was wearing . . . a _dress_?!

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Lovi asked when they reached the door. Toni smacked his head.

"I understand. You're just stunned by the pure beauty of me in this tunic. I'm sorry to reveal my natural beauty to you this soon in our relationship, mon ami!" Francis started to dab his eyes with a handkerchief. Lovino couldn't even tell if he was being serious or not!

Before the situation got any worse, Toni butted in, saying, "We need to know some stuff about Arthur."

"Oh, Arthur. What about him?" Francis asked, leading them into the house.

"Who are does he like to hang around a lot? I mean, his friends."

"Ah, you know, he really likes that Alfred guy," Francis sighed. "That guy has a big head, you know."

"Yeah, we know," Lovi said. Toni gave him a look that said "shut up."

"What else? He goes drinking with his brothers every Saturday, but he gets completely drunk after a few minutes. So someone ends up driving him home. He starts talking about . . . weird stuff. Like magic."

That was all it took for both Toni and Lovi to start off running back to the car. The sun was fading, and it was a Saturday. They had to get to the bar, and fast.

* * *

**Author's Note: *singing/dancing* This is my corner! This is my corner! I have ten-dollar cowboy boots! Yes, ten dollars! Ten dollars! But all my money is gone because I spent it on books! Yay for boooooooks!**

**Ahem, uh, sorry about that. I was just, um, wasting space. Yeah. And procrastinating. because I'm reading FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST! So far, so good. . .**

**It occurred to me that France was too serious in his first appearance. Sorry about that. And I can't wait for the next chapter! It's gonna be funny. . . I hope.**

**-TN**


	11. Chapter 10 (I cut it in half, sorry!)

**Pre-write: Okay, I'm sorry guys. I didn't finish the chapter. I'm leaving for a week, and I only had the first half of this done. So I'm splitting up the chapter and giving you the first half to chew on for the week! Forgiveness?**

**And, yeah, I write my author's note first. . .**

* * *

Of course, just when Lovi thought he and Antonio had escaped that dickheaded Brit, they were running straight back to him. Figuratively speaking, of course. They drove to him.

Surprisingly, Lovino was the jumpy one on the car ride to the only bar in town. At least, that was what Lovi had been told. He'd never actually looked into the bars in his should-be hometown. When could he have? It's not like the mirror had shown him anything other than his friends and family. Friends. And family. That was it, right? Something pulled at the corners of Lovino's brain for a fraction of a second, then disappeared again.

Many times, Toni tried to socialize, but the car quickly descended into awkward silence once again.

"Hey, Lovi!" Toni started again.

"What, tomato bastard?" Lovino snarled. He could've sworn that Antonio was _trying_ to put him in a bad mood.

"Why do you call me that?" Toni made a pouty face.

"Because you're a bastard who likes tomatoes."

Even though Lovino was glaring out his window and couldn't see Toni's face, he knew the weak guy was quivering like he'd cry or something. "Am I really a . . . a . . . a _bastard_?"

Lovi didn't know what to say to that, so he just kept quiet. But Toni kept trying to get rid of the awkwardness.

"What kind of things do you like to do?" he asked.

"I. . . Well, I like. . . I don't know."

"YOu don't know what you like to do?!" Toni seemed shocked. But Lovino had never been out of a mirror before! All he did was watch people. . . "Well, mi amigo, we must find something for you to enjoy!"

_He called me his friend_, thought Lovino. _Is that all we are? Have I pushed him away that far?_ But then: _No, no, we've only known each other for a week. That's why he called me a friend._

Silence came back to the car, but it wasn't the same; this one wasn't awkward. Lovino was deep in thought (debating what Toni had meant by the word "amigo," no less) up until the second the car jolted to a stop.

"You couldn't have pulled up any gentler, could you have, bastard?" Lovi asked. He was planning on including some choice words, but none of them seemed to fit the situation very well.

"Sorry!" Antonio squeaked, and hopped out of the car. He headed straight in, not another word to Lovino. What had he expected?

Lovi unbuckled and followed after. He was suddenly hit with the smell of the bar and instantly fell in love with the place. It was like he knew the place by heart.

Toni leaned on the bar (looking positively handsome, as always) chatting with Gilbert, who had a drink in his hand.

The sight made Lovino sit down at the bar with a huff. He felt like he was trapped in the mirror again. Invisible.

* * *

**Author's Note: I've been working on next week's Become One chapter instead of this. . . Sorry! Oh, yeah, I WON'T BE HERE NEXT WEEK. So have fun without me. . .**

**Also, does anyone have a size *beep* shorts in *beep*'s clothing?! I NEED A PAIR. LIKE, NOW. And a rain jacket? And a BATTERY POWERED FAN?**

**OH MY GOSH, HOW DO PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT INTERNET?! In short, I have anxiety without the Internet. I really enjoy anxiety. But it makes my shoulders hurt. And then I get a headache. And then no one's happy. 'Cause I'm off making their lives miserable.**

**I got a compliment the other day (It didn't help the fact that my head is starting to swell. I live off compliments.) that I must be the best friend ever! It made me so happy. XP**

**Also, I don't like Hug drinks. No really, I freaking HATE them. I know someone who had five or so in an hour, and then-**

**You know what? I'm not going to finish that sentence. Because I'm pretty sure you don't want to know. It's a bathroom joke. . . / /./ / Plus, Hugs don't taste good to me.**

**I HAVE A BOOK OF GRIMM FAIRY TALES~!**

**Alright, enough with my ridiculous rant. I'm sure you'd rather I'd be writing right now instead of spilling the strange and eccentric thoughts inside my mind.**

**-TN**


	12. Chapter 10 (cont)

Someone slid a glass filled with a weird-looking liquid that Lovino had never seen before. It was an amber color and there were small bubbles at the top. Lovi looked down the bar to see who had sent the mysterious drink. A girl at the end of the bar sat, resting her head on her hands, fluttering her brown cow-like eyes.

She was really pretty. Lovi had never thought about girls before; it had only been Antonio. No one else. Maybe it was time for a little change, he thought.

He downed the drink, ignoring the strange way it tasted in his mouth. The girl sent him another one, which was soon also gone. And another. And another. It was like she was challenging him. Just how many of these drinks could he drink?

Eventually, Lovino began to feel funny. He stumbled over to the girl.

"Hey," he said, and hiccuped, "bella."

She laughed. "My name is Audrey, not Bella." Audrey leaned on the bar with her long and tan legs crossed and her skirt sliding somewhat.

"I's-" Lovi hiccuped again. "-I's nut? But you look so pretty. It-" Another hiccup. "-shud be."

Audrey laughed again. It was a sound Lovi was starting to like. What with its tinkling bells and choirs of angels singing along, the laugh was the prettiest Lovino had ever heard.

"You're so sweet!" she cooed. "And _so_ cute!" Audrey winked.

Lovi blushed and stuttered a quick thanks. The girl continued cooing with the occasional squeal mixed in.

"Hey, does it feel stuffy in here to you?" Audrey suddenly asked, pausing in her cooing-endeavor.

"A little."

"Let's go get some fresh air, yeah?" Audrey tugged on Lovi's hand and they stood out in the cold night air. It was enough to cool Lovi's head quickly.

"Hey, Lovi?"

"Yeah?"

Audrey fidgeted, looking almost ... nervous. Lovino had the sudden feeling of love towards her. "Do you... Willyougooutwithme?" she asked, leaning forward ever so slightly.

"What?"

She sighed and repeated herself: "Will you be my boyfriend?"

At that moment, any trace of Antonio vanished from his mind, and all he could think of was the girl in front of him. Lovino couldn't help but blush. "Yeah."

Audrey squealed. "Aw, Lovi. Will you walk me home? It's not far, I promise!"

"Yeah." _Dammit, Lovino. Stop being so repetitive!_ he scolded himself.

"Yay!"

They walked as Aubrey chattered, until Aubrey stopped in front of a building. "Well, this is it, I guess," she said. "Oh! We never exchanged numbers!"

This, as you might never imagine, completely confused Lovino. Numbers? Did people have numbers tattooed onto their backs or something?

"Uh... I don't... I, um..." Lovi stuttered. He couldn't exactly tell this girl he came from a _mirror_. Well, it hadn't actually taken that long for him to spill the truth to Antonio, but that was different. Because Toni was... Toni was... The thought faded from Lovino's mind like ... like... Lovino couldn't even remember what he had been thinking of. It didn't matter, he decided.

"Don't tell me you don't have a phone!" she gasped. "Silly!"

Then Lovino thought, maybe it wasn't the best idea for them to be together. But he loved her so much, that he couldn't stand the thought. _The rest of the world can go fuck itself_. It wasn't like he cared.

Lovino snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Audrey shiver. "C'mon, it's getting cold. Let me take you inside." They walked again, up stairs and through hallways until they came to stand in front of apartment 56B.

"Do you want to come in for a minute?" Audrey asked, ever considerate.

"Sure." So they walked inside the apartment.

Audrey had couches and chairs and such made from a comfy leather that Lovino rather enjoyed when he sat down on it. It was a homey scene as Audrey worked in the kitchen and Lovino sat on the couch, half asleep at only ten or so. Eventually she came to sit across from Lovino.

"Lovino. _Lovi_. We need to talk."

When she called him "Lovi," something about the name struck a chord with Lovino. Like there was something he should remember. It was really starting to bother him.

"Um, about what?"

Audrey rolled her eyes and leaned over. "About you, of course. About your magic."

His ... magic? Lovino felt everything in him, for a moment, stop.

With a catlike grin, she leaned forward more. "And how I'm going to take it from you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Surprise? Well, it is magic stuff... You should've known. Right? ... Right? Guys? Where'd everybody go? T.T**

**Canada: I'm still here...**

**Kuma-whatsit: Who are you?**

**Sorry 'bout dropping the drunk speech so fast. It's really not that fun to write.**

**Oh, and, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:**

**I've decided to put all stories on hiatus until this one is finished. With school starting, and I'm behind on everything... Anyways, hope I didn't upset any of you guys who follow my other stories. I promise, they will get done! Eventually.**

**-TN**


End file.
